Windows 8:一款难当重任的操作系统?

Microsoft Corp. has made big changes to its familiar Windows operating system to stay relevant amid booming sales of mobile devices such as Apple Inc.'s iPad. But some corporate customers worry Microsoft has made its workplace workhorse too unfamiliar.
微软(Microsoft Corp.)对人们熟悉的Windows操作系统进行了大刀阔斧的变革，以便在苹果(Apple Inc.) iPad等移动设备热销之际不落人后。不过一些企业客户担心，微软让这套在工作场合应用广泛的主力操作系统变得令人过于陌生了。

The new operating system, dubbed Windows 8, adds a new way to navigate a computer by touching rows of small windows, called tiles, that represent websites or apps, much like the icons familiar to smartphone users. Microsoft's new interface can also be controlled with a mouse, and used in a mode similar to the old Windows 'desktop.'
这套名为Windows 8的新操作系统增添了一种新的操作电脑的方法，使用者可以触摸一排排代表网站或应用程序的小窗口来操控电脑。这些名叫“瓷贴”(tile)的小窗口和智能手机用户所熟悉的图标非常类似。微软的新界面也能够通过鼠标控制，还可以通过类似老版Windows系统的“桌面”模式进行操作。

Yet some companies that have tried the new software─particularly those that expect to stick to traditional laptops and desktop computers for now─worry employees will be frustrated with the changes.
REUTERS一款使用Windows 8操作系统的三星平板电脑。然而，一些已试用过新操作系统的公司担心员工会不适应这些变化，尤其是那些眼下希望继续使用传统笔记本电脑和台式机的公司。

'The interface for a tablet is very nice,' said Adam Noble, chief information officer for GAF, a Wayne, N.J., building-materials company that uses about 3,000 Windows-based systems as well as some iPads. 'On a laptop, it's more difficult to use.'
新泽西州韦恩市(Wayne)建材公司GAF的首席信息长诺布勒(Adam Noble)说，这个界面用于平板电脑非常合适，但装在笔记本电脑上则不太好用。GAF公司使用了约3,000台装有Windows系统的电脑，同时也使用iPad。

The new software presents companies with a training issue they haven't faced since Windows 95 first brought innovations such as the Start button, which is replaced by a Start screen in Windows 8.
新系统也给企业带来了培训问题。自Windows 95首次采用“开始”按钮等一系列创新技术以来，企业还不曾碰到更换操作系统需要对员工进行培训的问题。Windows 8用“开始”界面取代了“开始”按钮。

'This is going to be the first time in a decade and half that [companies are] actually going to have to teach someone to use Windows,' said Stephen Kleynhans, a Gartner Inc. analyst.
研究机构Gartner Inc.的分析师克莱因汉斯(Stephen Kleynhans)说，这将是15年来企业首次需要教员工如何使用Windows。

Microsoft officials note that there is always some initial customer resistance to change in its products that is eventually overcome, and insist that the benefits of Windows 8 are worth the learning curve. 'We're confident about the value we can deliver,' said Erwin Visser, senior director of the Microsoft team overseeing Windows for corporations.
微软负责人指出，客户最初总是会对微软产品的变化存有一些抵触情绪，但这最终会被克服，并坚持说Windows 8所带来的种种好处值得用户付出学习时间。微软负责向企业客户销售Windows操作系统的团队高级负责人维瑟(Erwin Visser)说，我们对所能传递的价值抱有信心。

Some technology buyers already seem to have moved on. 'We believe today as a tablet, the iPad gives us a strong combination of functionality, security and price,' said Peter Hendel, associate director of the global business services arm of Procter & Gamble Co., which counts more than 5,000 iPads in use among sales people, executives and other workers who travel frequently.
全球业务服务部门副主管亨德尔(Peter Hendel)说，我们相信如今作为一款平板电脑，iPad为我们提供了一个集功能性、安全性和适中价格于一身的产品。宝洁公司使用的iPad数量超过5,000台，销售人员、公司高管以及其它经常出差的员工都在使用。

Stuart Kippelman, chief information officer of Covanta Holding Corp.'s Covanta Energy unit, said he can envision his company and others buying fewer Microsoft computers in the future as the iPad replaces some uses of traditional computers. 'I can see that happening,' Mr. Kippelman said.
卡万塔控股(Covanta Holding Corp.)旗下卡万塔能源公司(Covanta Energy)的IT负责人吉普尔曼(Stuart Kippelman)说，将来随着传统电脑的某些用途被iPad取代，自己公司和其他公司购买的微软电脑越来越少。吉普尔曼说，我可以预料到这种情形的发生。